Pavement Ends Ministry

In Matthew 11:12 we read “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” For a long time, I did not understand this verse. I would read it, scratch my head and ask God “What in the world are you talking about?” The Bible says ask and you will receive, so one day while I was driving, He showed me what this verse meant. Listen to this podcast to hear what God taught me.

As Jesus began his ministry, He called two fishermen named Simon and Andrew to be His disciples. He called them by saying," follow me and I will make you fishers of men." These were two ordinary men who were destined to remain ordinary until they trusted Jesus. Then He made them into extraordinary men. listen to this podcast to hear more.

Jesus personally called the men He wanted to be His disciples. These men were Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the Son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananite and Judas Iscariot Now we know that Jesus walked this earth as a man, but He was The Great I Am. Therefore He knew all there was to know about these men He wanted to be His disciples. listen to podcast hear more.

In this life there will be many times when you wish you had a third hand. For this reason, always make sure that your life is in the Hands of God. It is with an unwavering confidence that you can trust Him and know He will help you.

Among the last words that Jesus spoke from the cross were, "It is finished" . What was it that was finished ? What task had Jesus completed? Listen to this podcast to learn about the end of an era.

For the ones who are graduating, congratulations. The God of all creation has made you to thrive and to accomplish great things. God has a high hill for you to climb. Now it is up to you to find that hill and then climb it. People who reach their God given summit have refused to be mediocre. They are leaders who stand out from the crowd and thrive. Here are some things you must know if you are going to stand out from the world. Listen to this podcast to hear this advice.

You and I are here in this place and this time. You did not choose this time and maybe didn’t choose this place, but here you are. I would like to suggest that you may have been chosen for such a time as this. You were uniquely created for the responsibilities and opportunities of your life.

“Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.” Children have sung this cute little song in church for decades. We think it is about a short man who could not see Jesus because of all the tall people. However, maybe we have missed the point. Maybe this story is about a group of people who are so self-centered they make it hard for others to come to Jesus. Listen to this podcast to hear the rest of the story.

Don’t accuse God of being unfair. You see God loves all people so much that He gave His only Begotten Son to die on the cross. Anyone who puts their trust in Jesus can have eternal life with God in heaven. However, how can anyone trust in Jesus if they have never heard of Him. And how can they hear of Him unless someone tells them about the Gospel?

Often people will say they do not believe that a loving God will send anyone to hell. They are absolutely right. God does not want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to come to Him and be saved. That is why He allowed His Son to be crucified. Jesus did not come into this world to condemn anyone. He came so that everyone would have the possibility of salvation. Jesus is the only way to get to Heaven. He wants you to choose to follow Him. If you decide not to trust Him, then you have made the choice not to go to Heaven. Listen to this podcast to hear more--

The men were laughing and talking as they enjoyed the meal. When the door opened, they turned to see a woman entering the room. In her hand she held a beautiful alabaster box. The container itself was very valuable and the men knew that the oil it held was worth more than they could earn in a year. Maybe they thought, she is going to give it to Jesus for His ministry. Listen to this podcast to hear the rest of the story;

In the Bible, the story of Job was one of extreme brokenness. Financial ruin, heart rending grief and intense suffering left this once prosperous man crushed and shattered. In the third chapter of Job he says “For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. I cannot relax or be still; I have no rest, for trouble comes.” Job never prayed for brokenness, it was what he feared and dreaded. But he was broken, and from his story we can learn how to react when we are broken.

The day of the Lord is coming soon, but we don’t know when. Therefore, we should live every day at peace with God, confessing our sins and living righteously for Him. Understand this, every day that passes without His returning is another opportunity for us to share the Hope of salvation with your neighbor. Listen to this podcast to here more about the return of the King.

Recently my daily Bible reading had me in Numbers chapter 28. As I read, I thought about how frustrated the people must have been as they tried to please God. They had laws to keep that they could never keep. So they had to make many sacrifices to atone for the laws they constantly broke. They were imperfect people trying to be perfect. They lived their lives trying to please God. But they never could no matter how hard they tried. Listen to this podcast to hear the rest of the story.

Useless, an old building torn down and reduced to a pile of worthless wood. Good for nothing, really all it was fit for was to be burned or left to rot. Looking at the heap of old planks I thought, maybe there is something good in there. One by one I examined the old planks. Every one of them was rough. Twisted and warped there was not a straight edge to be found. It was just an old pile of useless lumber. Listen to this podcast to hear what i did with these old boards and what God can do with broken lives.

The Apostle Paul has been credited with planting many churches. However, it is an injustice to The Holy Spirit to give Paul the acclaim for starting these churches. Paul never planted a church, he never started a church. He simply went into all the world, made disciples of all kinds of people, immersed them in the Word of God and taught them to follow Jesus. Churches popped up wherever Paul went because the Holy Spirit worked in and through the disciples Paul made.

Listen! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “The second is Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” It is true and all Christians know it. All the commandments of God are contained in these words, “Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” I do not intend to take anything away from those commandments but I believe that we have missed the first commandment in this passage of scripture. You see the very first thing Jesus commanded us to do was to listen”.

Jesus knew exactly how much time He had and did not waste it. You and I however do not know how much time we have. The Bible teaches us, it is impossible to know what will happen tomorrow and that our life is like a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Like Jesus we must realize that our time is limited and determine not to waste it.

All people have an element of brokenness within them, but few realize that God can turn their brokenness into a blessing. The blessedness of brokenness is this; God knows you by name and He wants to mend your wounds and heal your broken heart. Listen to this podcast to hear the rest of the story.

The truth about Jesus is not found in the social and prosperity gospels that false prophets preach. The truth about Jesus was seen when He took a basin of water and washed the feet of His disciples. The truth about Jesus was revealed when they nailed Him to the cross and He said to the man with the hammer, “I forgive you”. The truth about Jesus saturates an empty tomb because He is not there, He is risen and now He sits at the right hand of the Father. The ultimate truth about Jesus was given to us when we were commanded to “Take up your cross and follow